Wednesday Wonders with Sydney Aaliyah

Sydney is doing JuNoWriMo this month, but she squeezed us into her schedule for which we thank her. I haven’t heard lately how well she is doing with her writing, but I know she will make her 50,000 words by the end of June.

Now Sydney I was reading through your answers to my questions and you don’t read romance? Gasp! I hope Kyle & Kelly wasn’t too mushy. 🙂 I’ll tell you a little secret and then we will get on to the questions, but you can’t tell anyone, okay? Shh…I don’t usually read romance either. And like you, My favorite author is Stephen King.

1. Many people don’t like the name they were given at birth. Do you like your given name? If not, what would you rather have been named?

I really like my name, but for some reason when I was 7 years old, I decided that I wanted everyone to call me Patrick. I told people who just meet me that it was the name of my Irish Great Grandfather. I am not Irish. It lasted for about a month before my mother informed me to stop it. It is still my favorite name.

3. Is there a routine you go through before you begin writing?

In order for me to start writing, all emails have to be answered or filed away for later. My inbox has to be empty. It is a weird thing I have. If when I start and I have emails to address, my mind can’t focus. But, once I get going, I don’t think about the inbox anymore. I think I am still trying to find out what environment I work best in.

4. Is there anyone you admire?

I really admire my mother. She is such a great lady. No matter what she always has a smile on her face and everyone loves here. If there is something she doesn’t know, she looks it up and learns all that she can about it. One time, her bosses home had a fire. She coordinated the renovations of the house like a seasoned contractor. The amount of information that she has acquired in her life is truly impressive.

5. What do you like to read?

I have very diverse taste in everything: from movies to music and especially in books. About the only thing I don’t read is romance novels. I can’t get over the mushy factor.

6. Do you have a favorite author?

My all time favorite writer is Stephen King. I have to plan when I can read his books because they are long and once I start one, I dedicate every waking and a few sleepless nights to finish it. The phrase “can’t put down” was invented because of his books. One of my favorite books is Deception Point by Dan Brown. I am amazed at the amount of research he has to do to write a book. I also really like James Patterson’s books. The Alex Cross Series of books is so good. With books, I can go on and on.

7. Does it have to be quiet when you write or do you like background noise? TV, music, etc.

I have recently discovered that I have the ability to write anywhere. There has to be some background noise for me to write. I find that it takes about 10 minutes for me to get into whatever I am working on. So, TV, Music, children running around, it doesn’t seem to bother me. I do realize what a blessing this is.

8. Beach or mountains?

Beach – sitting on a beach reading a book with a Bud Light to sip on is a dream vacation for me.

10. Favorite snack food?

My favorite snack food is peanut butter M&M’s. Since I can’t get them all the time here in China, every time someone goes back to the states and if anyone is getting a care package from home, must include peanut butter M&M’s.

11. Doesn’t matter who we are, man, woman, child, all of us get freaked out by something. Spiders, mice, snakes, bugs, geese, etc. What freaks you out?

Snakes really freak me out. Fake ones, real ones, snakes in movies. It all just gives me the creeps. In a recent My Weekly Update post, I mentioned we had a snake in the toilet at my office. They killed it. That was a month ago, I still haven’t used that bathroom.

14. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

When I am not writing, I like to play golf, eat, watch movies and read.

15. And last question…Do you have anything new coming out that you’d like to share with us?

I am participating in JuNoWriMo in June and I am writing my first novel. It is an idea that I have been thinking about for about 2 years. Besides the fact that the main character is an American living in China, it has nothing else to do with me or my life. I am really excited to get into to.

Sydney thank you once again for doing an interview with Wednesday Wonders.

Please keep us updated on your writing. We look forward to hearing all about the book you are working on!